KIRKLAND – Just as the pass had settled into the hands of tight end John Carlson, the second-round draft choice was greeted by a fumble-forcing hit from rookie Jamar Adams.

Later, after second-year cornerback Josh Wilson had not only broken up a pass but nearly broken second-year wide receiver Joel Filani into separate yet unequal parts, three of the second-unit offensive linemen finished the play facedown on the turf.

Yes, the players put full pads on for the first time at Seahawks training camp Sunday morning, and the intensity level rose.

The players had practiced twice on both Friday and Saturday, but it's just not the same without pads.

"It's as elemental as it sounds," offensive coordinator Gil Haskell said. "It's just a different game."

For the coaches, and the players.

Numerous times during the spring minicamps, as well as after the Friday and Saturday training camp practices, a coach would be asked to assess a player. The tagline to the response was almost always the same:

"But we really won't know until they put the pads on at training camp."

Know what?

"Who wants the contact and who's going to be a man, and who's going to be a boy," strong safety Deon Grant said through a smile.

"That's why this first day in pads is so important. You can see early who wants the contact."

The coaches are a little more diplomatic in their choice of words, but they share the same bottom line: It's one thing for a player to look good while practicing in shorts, but it's the things he can do while working in pads that tell you if he can play.

"That's football," Haskell said of practicing in pads. "When you're getting hit and you're getting knocked around, you can't think about what you're supposed to do. You react.

"When they're out there in shorts, they do it exactly right all the time. So you say, ‘OK, he knows what he's doing.' But can he play football? When you put the pads on, you're playing football."

Things weren't exactly right all the time Sunday morning.

Coach Mike Holmgren vented his frustration at individual players and entire units several times during the 105-minute practice that too often was hit-and-miss for the offense.

While it wasn't always precise, it was a needed first step – especially for the defense.

"We're able to now see guys in the secondary and the linebackers and whether or not they can make plays on the ball that we don't allow them to even try in no pads," defensive coordinator John Marshall said.

"That starts to bring their game more into focus as to what they can do."

It allows linemen to get their hands into a would-be blocker and show they can dominate an opponent.

"Pads for a defensive lineman are critical," Marshall said. "To really practice right for a defensive lineman, and get the most out of practice, they've got to have pads on."

At this camp, the linemen will have to make the most of limited opportunities. The players are scheduled to practice in full pads 15 more times in the remaining 37 practices.

There is an adjustment period, even for the defense, because the players last wore full pads in mid-January during the playoff loss to the Packers in Green Bay.

That was apparent on one play early in practice, when Peterson did not get over quickly enough on the pass to the tight end in the flat. Holmgren had the defense re-run the play, and Peterson's coverage was spot-on.

"It's just part of getting all the kinks out and getting used to having the pads on again," Peterson said.